Obesity

Obesity is very much related to being overweight. While the rate or percentage of overweight people is very common in most societies today, being obese is a medical condition in which the person’s health is negatively affected by the excess body fat that has accumulated in the body. This could lead to a string of health problems which could be very dangerous and even fatal. The term BMI or Body Mass Index is the measurement used to ascertain if the person is obese.

Prevalence
Obesity or being overweight is a major problem for health. A person who has a BMI of 25 or more is considered as overweight while if it breaches 30, the person is considered to be obese which means medical treatment might be required. People are becoming more health-conscious in today’s world but due to the fast moving societies and communities, people are eating more energy-dense food which has high volumes of saturated fats. This will cause fats to be accumulated in the body and is a common problem among male and female of all ages, even children. People who are obese will face increased risk of all types of known diseases that include cardiovascular heart diseases, stroke, hypertension and many more.

Prevention
The best way to prevent obesity is to keep a close watch on the weight. This can be done by exercising regularly and eating healthily. There is no other ways to prevent obesity except to watch the diet which should consist of high fiber contents. Meal replacements should be practiced to avoid eating too much. One of the biggest problems with obese people is that they do not see it as a disease and as such refuse medical treatment or help.

Diagnosis
A person who is overweight is checked based on the BMI and that is the clearest indication if it is breaching the obesity mark. If it is, then further treatment might be needed that include a full turnaround in diet and food consumption, a fitness regime and even a total change in the lifestyle.

Statistics
It has been found that the number of obese people have been rising since the last few decades. There were over 1.4billion adults who were overweight in 2008 where about 200 million and about 300 million of them were obese. This problem is faced by children as well where in 2012, it was recorded that over 40 million of those below 5 were overweight, a situation which they will bring to adulthood if not treated.

SpecialistsIf you know you have a problem with weight and is in the pre-obesity weight, then you must consult your family physician as soon as possible. Your doctor will be able to give you the best possible advice on whether you are in any risk of obesity and hypertension before referring you to a professional. If required, you will be referred to a Counterweight Specialist who can help you with deriving a proper plan to help you reduce the unwanted weight. A dietician would play a crucial role to help you reduce your weight as well. In more serious cases, you might have to see a surgeon if liposuction is required.

SymptomsIt does not take an expert to tell you that you are overweight. In fact, you can very much tell that your weight needs to be reduced by looking at the mirror. But when you start experiencing some serious conditions like high cholesterol and difficulty in breathing including sleep apnea or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, then you must start talking to your doctor. Meanwhile, other signs that you are obese can come from having a lot of extra fats around your weight or you could be having some sort of gallbladder diseases or depression. Joint pains and chest aches are common symptoms too.

MedicationUnlike most types of diseases where there is a type of medication for treatment, obesity is usually treated by changing your diet habits. Drugs will be prescribed when your situation becomes very serious. This will include drugs like orlistat which helps to prevent one third of the fat from your foods from being digested and then discharged as stool from your body. While this drug helps to stop you from gaining weight, it might not necessarily mean that you will lose weight. As such, home remedies and better dieting habits would be desired.

Home remediesThere are many types of home remedies you can practice to cure obesity. Diet programmes and meal replacements can be used to control your food intake. The best method is to replace one or two meals per day with fiber-rich foods with a lot of vegetables and fruits. You can take dairy food but this should be done in moderation so that you do not increase your body weight. Check your blood pressure regularly to reduce your risk of hypertension while enter into a regular and effective fitness regime. A low-calorie and high-magnesium diet meanwhile would be very effective as well.

Obesity in Malaysia
If not watched, obesity could be very dangerous because it could lead to fatal diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular problems and hypertension. In Malaysia, it has been reported in a recent British medical journal, The Lancet that 49% of women and 44% of men are obese.

This is simply translated to Malaysia being in the top spot for obesity among Asian countries. The Lancet reported that 45.3% of the population of Malaysia is obese which is too high as compared to South Korea which reported 33.2% of its population while China has 28.3% of its population who are obese.

This means that 2 out of 5 Malaysian adult is obese. According to the Malaysian National Health and Morbidity Survey, the number with children was 38% in 2006. In 2010, the WHO (World Health Organisation) carried out a survey that showed that 60% of Malaysians above 18 years of age are in danger of obese as they have a BMI of more than 25, the threshold for obesity.

Another research carried out in 2008 by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia showed that there has been a 30% increase of obesity among children between 6 and 12 years of age. Meanwhile, a study by Univeristi Putra Malaysia in 2007 found that females in Malaysia were at higher risk of obesity as compared to men. This will surely be an area that must be considered with more initiatives to create more awareness among Malaysians about the dangers of being overweight being put in place to ensure that this do not turn into a common problem.

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